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Published: July 27th 2006
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Well, there's been a change in plans. I spoke with Joann Dwyer Sunday evening after arriving in Panajachel and she informed me that the work in Chi Chi had been cancelled and that she would not have anything for me to do until Saturday. I was left with an entire week to find something to do, so I decided to head North to
Semuc Champey to enjoy it's emerald pools, waterfalls and caves.
The next morning I took off in a shuttle at 6am toward Guatemala City. I made it there just in time to catch the 10am bus to Coban. On the bus I met a girl from England (Sarah) and a guy from Switzerland (Viktor) that were travelling together. I also met a guy from France (Cyril) that sat beside me the entire trip. We all just happened to be headed to the same destination, so we stuck together. After the 5 hour trip to Coban, we all jumped on a shuttle on its way to Lanquin, which was an hour and a half drive through hills of jungle landscape. We soon turned off of the main drag and headed down a narrow dirt road into the tropical forest
below. After reaching Lanquin we still had one more leg of the trip left and that was a 10km ride in the back of a pick-up truck even deeper into the jungle. Of course, this is about the time the heavy rainfall began, leaving us soaked for our arrival at Las Marias hostel. Las Marias, being the only hostel near Semuc Champey (1km), was a laid-back refuge nestled into the jungle, alongside the Rio Cahabon River. We arrived there a little after 5pm for a total travel time of 11 hours and 15 minutes. We checked into our dorm style rooms (4 people per room) and signed up for dinner. That evening, I wolfed down dinner and hit the sack to recharge for the big day that followed.
That morning Sarah, Viktor, Cyril, and I all signed up for the Kanba Cave tour at 9:30am. This tour was only 30Q and well worth it. I have never been on such an exciting spelunking adventure in my life. The tour started off with everyone getting a candle except for me, who brought a glow stick with string and wore it around my neck (which I would highly recommend). We waded
our way, waist deep in water, into the mouth of the cave as bats flew all around our heads. Soon the water was too deep to stand, so everyone had to swim with one hand and use the other to hold the candle above the water. Now, candles do not put off as much light as a flashlight, so it was quite dark and the water that was up to our necks was a bit chilly. We made our way back into the cave for an hour, sometimes fully swimming and other times just wading. At one point, we came to a waterfall where there stood a ladder off to one side and a knotted rope going up through the falls. We all had a choice whether to take the ladder (like a chicken) or to go up the rope. Of course, we all chose the rope route straight up the waterfall...which was really cool. We then made our way back further until we reached a pool with cascades and cliffs on the walls of the cave. The guide, weighing a buck 40 and 5 feet in height, had everyone stand around the pool as he climbed up onto one
of the cliffs. He then jumped off and disappeared into the dark pool of water. The stirred water soon settled, but there was no sign of the guide. Suddenly, the missing man-child popped his head up through a little hole in the rock that we all stood on. He had swam underwater and come up through the hole that was about 2ft in diameter. Next, it was our turn. I climbed up first and the guide pointed his light where I had to jump. If you jumped too far you landed in rocks and if you jumped too high, you hit stalactites (besides that it was extremely safe). I made my jump with no problem and headed underwater for the hole, but I couldn't fit through and hit my head. Everyone else followed, and all were able to fit through the opening. Now, even though I was much larger than everyone, I was still determined to do it...so I jumped back in (Mom, don't read this next part). The group all warned me not to try because they had barely squeezed through and they didn't think it was possible for me, but of course I tried anyway. I got one
arm through the hole but then I got my shoulders wedged. I was stuck underwater for a few seconds but frantically kicked off the floor until I finally popped up through the hole (I'm alive and very stupid). We all swam our way out of the cave, but before leaving, the guide painted our faces with black resin from the cave wall. The cool thing about the tour was that you would never find anything like this in the states because it would never be a allowed due to the risk involved.
Following the spelunking, we all grabbed a tube and followed the guide down the river toward the hostel. Along the way we exited the river and climbed up onto a 10m+ (30-35ft) bridge and jumped off into the water. Climbing back on our tubes, we all kicked back and floated our way back home. Arriving back at the hostel, we all took turns launching off of a rope swing that was tied to a tree along the river shore. I give the Kaban Cave tour two thumbs up!
After lunch, we hiked (1k) our way up to the emerald green pools, waterfalls, cascades and jungle setting
of Semuc Champey. This little piece of paradise was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The pools had a tranquil green glow fed by numerous cascades. There were many different sections of pools spread throughout the area which allowed privacy if desired. Further up stream were gushing rapids that poured down and made their way through a natural limestone bridge. The waters throughout the area were full of various types of vegetation and butterflies hovering above. There were sheer rock walls covered with moss, fern and vines. The only thing able to pull my attention away from the beauty of the landscape was a topless European girl bathing in the tepid water. Soon, we were all swimming about the pools and jumping from the rocks. The waters were warm and soothing and we didn't want to leave, but we had to hurry back in order to catch the 3pm shuttle to Lanquin.
In Lanquin we stayed at El Retiro hostel, which was made up of straw huts called Palapas and was alongside the river that flows through the Lanquin caves. We were just in time to take the Grutas (caves) de Laquin tour. The cave
system we made our way through was massive, but I still found the mornings tour much more exciting. Although, there was a group of young Israeli girls that had no business being in the caves but did make it interesting. They required my help (b/c the guide could have cared less) the entire tour to climb up and down the slippery rocks, and would not stop whining about every little thing (Oh my goodness it's muddy in here, etc., etc.). As we made our way out of the cave, there were more and more bats swooping all around us (just imagine the girls). We made it out through the mouth of the cavern just as the sunset and watched as hundreds of bats flew out into the night. Later, I went with a young gentlemen from Israel (Philip) to finally get a good meal (MEAT!!). We ate Schnitzel and discussed the possibility of taking a trip together through the Western Highlands and around to the lake, hitting some towns along the way. That night we all slept in hammocks (15Q) and wrapped ourselves in blankets to keep warm.
Well, that about wraps it up for Semuc Champey and the
Grutas de Lanquin. I highly recommend this area to travelers. It is quite an experience and beautiful site to see. Although, you don't have to go as fast as we did. One would probably want at least two days minimum. Well, goodbye and it has been great hearing from all of you back home. Take Care!
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Josh Yarbrough
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From Coy
Love these blogs Curl, Nicole and I are enjoying reading them. Who knew you had a talent for writing-National Geographic is calling! By the way, I have a little piece of news for you. The wife and I are pregnant and expecting in October. Take care and live it up.